Systems and Methods for Generating Power Through The Flow of Water

ABSTRACT

A system and method for generating and harvesting energy in response to the flow of water through rotating device, such as a nutating or oscillating disk. Mechanical energy from flow of water is converted into electrical energy via an energy conversion unit. For example, the power generation system may be used to power electronic and mechanical devices used in automated meter reading (AMR) systems. The power generator system may recharge a storage circuit that enables long term AMR operations without the need for battery replacement. The power generation system, in various embodiments, can provide additional power for two-way communication and other sensors such as pressure, temperature, water quality and services such as remote shut-off, event-based messaging, and water quality monitoring.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, claims priority to, andincorporates by reference in its entirety, the following, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/760,200, entitled “Systems and Methods forRemote Utility Metering and Meter Monitoring,” filed on Jun. 8, 2007,which claims the benefit of provisional applications 60/811,765 filedJun. 8, 2006 and 60/869,501 filed Dec. 11, 2006, both titled “Systemsand Method for Remote Water Metering.”

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to power generation and morespecifically to power generation using the flow of water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Municipal or private water deliver systems usually deliver water from acentral location through a distribution network to water customers on acost per unit of volume basis, most often cost per gallon or cost perliter. In these systems, a water meter is typically placed between acommon water supply pipe and a customer property to measure the amountof water flowing from the supply pipe to the customer. In order to billthe customer for water usage, it is necessary to periodically read themeter to determine the amount of usage over a fixed period of time. Thisprocess is referred to in the industry as metering or meter reading.

Historically, metering has been a labor intensive process, and due tothe manual steps required, one that is prone to error. Some improvementshave been made by utilizing automated meter reading (AMR) techniques tocapture and transmit meter reading information electronically, such asto a technician with a receiving device near the meter or to anotherremote location. However, these automated systems still suffer fromvarious shortcomings including limited battery life, limitedtransmission range, and lack of remote addressability, among others.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional meter readingsystems, at least one embodiment of the invention provides a remotewater meter monitoring system. The remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to this embodiment comprises a water meter body coupling awater supply source to a water customer, a flow sensor contained withinthe water meter body that is configured to measure a bidirectional flowrate of water through the water meter, a power supply system includingat least one battery, at least one capacitor, at least one rectifiercircuit, and a power generator, wherein the power generator is poweredby a flow of water through the water meter body, a controllercommunicatively coupled to the water meter body and power supply system,and at least one antenna connected to the controller.

Another embodiment according to the invention provides a wireless remotewater meter monitoring network. The wireless remote water metermonitoring network according to this embodiment comprises at least onecentral data processing system, at least one bridge devicecommunicatively coupled to the at least one central data processingsystem, and a plurality of network nodes, each network node configuredto perform two-way communication with the at least one bridge device,either directly or through one or more other network nodes, wherein eachnetwork node comprises a water meter housing coupling a water customerwith a water supply line, a flow measurement device in the water meterhousing for measuring a volume of water flowing through the meter, apower supply circuit including at least one power storage device, atleast one capacitive device and a power converter, wherein the powerconverter is powered by water flow through the meter, and acommunication circuit comprising a mesh-type controller and an antenna,wherein the communication circuit is coupled to the flow measurementdevice and the power supply circuit and is adapted to perform two-waycommunication.

Still a further embodiment according to the invention provides a circuitfor a wireless water meter monitoring system. The circuit according tothis embodiment comprises a mechanical energy harnessing sub-circuit forconverting water flow mechanical energy into electrical energycomprising a pair of magnetically coupled rotors driven by water flowand having a plurality of magnets affixed thereto that rotate around aset of coils, thereby inducing a current in the coils, an energy storageand delivery sub-circuit comprising at least one rectifier circuitelectrically coupled to the coils, at least one capacitor charged by theat least one rectifier circuit, at least one battery, and a switch forpermitting the at least one battery to be charged by the at least onecapacitor and for selecting either the at least one capacitor or the atleast one battery to supply continuous power to the circuit and tomanage charging of the at least one battery, a water flow countingsub-circuit comprising a plurality of flux change detectors that detectflux changes caused by a magnet rotating about a shaft driven by a flowsensor of a water flow chamber, a communication sub-circuit electricallycoupled to the energy storage and delivery sub-circuit and the waterflow counting sub-circuit comprising a mesh-type transceiver and anantenna for enabling two-way communication between the wireless watermeter monitoring system and other systems, and a sensor sub-circuitelectrically coupled to the energy storage and delivery sub-circuit andthe communication sub-circuit for recording sensor data and comprisingat least one sensor device.

Still a further embodiment according to the invention provides a powergeneration system. The system according to this embodiment comprises arotating device adapted to rotate in response to a flow of water on therotating device, a drive magnet operatively coupled to the rotatingdevice and adapted to rotate in response to the rotating devicerotating, a registration magnet operatively coupled to the drive magnetand adapted to rotate in response to the drive magnet rotating, and agenerator operatively coupled to the registration magnet and adapted toproduce a current in response to the registration magnet rotating.

These and other embodiments and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way ofexample the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a typical water utility distributionnetwork beginning with a water utility supply and terminating in aplurality of water consumers.

FIG. 2 is a network diagram of a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a illustration of a water meter pit including a remote watermeter monitoring system according to various embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of electrical components of a remotewater meter monitoring system according to various embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the power conversion circuit for a remotewater meter monitoring system according to various embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of converting mechanical water flowenergy into electrical energy in a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are different views of a water measurement headincluding a power conversion generator for a remote water metermonitoring system according to various embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are different views of a water chamber and watermeasurement head including a water counting system for a remote watermeter monitoring system according to various embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method for measuring water flow with aremote water meter monitoring system according to various embodiments ofthe invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the various logic modulesutilized in the remote water meter monitoring system according to thevarious embodiments of the invention.

These and other embodiments and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way ofexample the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is intended to convey a thorough understandingof the embodiments described by providing a number of specificembodiments and details involving systems and methods for remote watermeter monitoring. It should be appreciated, however, that the presentinvention is not limited to these specific embodiments and details,which are exemplary only. It is further understood that one possessingordinary skill in the art, in light of known systems and methods, wouldappreciate the use of the invention for its intended purposes andbenefits in any number of alternative embodiments, depending uponspecific design and other needs.

Referring now to FIG. 1, this Figure is an illustration of a typicalwater utility distribution network beginning with a water utility supplyand terminating in a plurality of water consumers. The network 100begins with a water service provider 110 such as a public water utilityor commercial water service provider. As is known in the art, the waterservice provider 110 may comprise a water reservoir and various waterquality processing elements that condition the water prior to beingpiped to consumers. One or more water supply pipes 115 flow out of thewater service provider 110 creating a water distribution network. Theone or more water supply pipes 115 provide water to a plurality of waterconsumers 130. For ease of illustration, the water consumers 130 areillustrated as residential units. However, the water consumers may bebusinesses, factories, irrigations systems, or other entities thatreceive water from the water service provider 110.

Each water consumer 130 is coupled to the at least one water supply line115 by a water meter 120. The water meter provides a physicalinterconnection between consumers 130 and the water supply line 115. Thewater meter 120 also measures the amount of water flowing to eachconsumer from the supply line 115. This data is typically used to billthe customer for their water consumption over a specified time periodsuch as a month or quarter. The water meter 120 includes a dial, gauge,or other display that quantifies the amount of water that has passedthrough the meter into a number of gallons. As discussed above, in orderto bill customers for their water consumption, the water utility usuallysends a meter reader out to the read the number from each water meter120. The previous reading is subtracted from this number and thecorresponding numbers of gallons consumed are billed to the customer.

A conventional water meter usually includes a water chamber having awater input, a water output, and a water flow measuring device, such asa rotating, nutating or oscillating disk, or other flow meter, thatdrives the gauge on the top surface of the meter. The meter chamber isusually made of a non-corrosive metal such as copper or bronze. Also,the pipe connecting the meter chamber usually includes a manual shut offvalve that can be manually engaged to prevent water from flowing fromthe supply pipe 115 to the consumer 130 through the meter 120, tofacilitate the repair or replacement of the water meter or otherelements within the customer premises.

FIG. 2 is a network diagram of a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention. The network 200 shownin FIG. 2 is similar to that of FIG. 1 in that a water service provider110 is coupled to a plurality of water consumers via a water supply pipe115. However, in the network 200 of FIG. 2, each water consumer isrepresented by a wireless communication based network node 230. Forpurposes of this disclosure and claims the network node 230 compriseswith physical water meter housing as well as the power, control andcommunications circuitry. Water enters each of the consumer premisesfrom the supply line 115 via the a water meter housing of each node 230.Each node 230 also comprises a wireless ad hoc network transceiver unitthat is operable to wirelessly transmit water meter reading informationto a bridge device 210, which, in turn, passes the information to one ormore server computer systems associated with the water service provider110. In various embodiments this information may be accessible over awide area network, such as the Internet, by anyone having appropriateaccess credentials with a network browser, such as an Internet webbrowser.

The bridge device 210 may communicate with the one or more servercomputer systems (not shown) via a land line, a wireless cellularconnection, a wireless 802.11x connection, WiFi, (including municipalWiFi and WiMAX), fiber optic connection, a cable connection, atwisted-pair copper phone line, a satellite connection, other known orpreviously unknown communications medium, or combinations of any ofthese. The specific communications medium between the bridge device 210and the one or more server computers is not critical to the variousembodiments of the invention.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, each node 230 acts as both a sensorand a data router. Each node may transmit a signal directly to thebridge device 210, or pass the information through one or more othernetwork nodes 230. This feature of self-forming, self-healing ad hocnetworks is known in the art and particularly advantageous to thevarious embodiments of the invention because the physical environment ofthe network 200 may change due to the presence of cars, trucks and othertemporary obstructions within the network 200, affecting the propagationof radio frequency (RF) signals between nodes or between a node and thebridge device 210.

It should be appreciated that each network node 230 may, up loadinformation to the bridge 210 as well as receive information and/orinstructions from the bridge 210. That is, a network node 230 may repeata signal destined for the bridge device 210 or one that is destined foranother node 230. Techniques and algorithms for optimizing ad hoc ormesh networks are well known in the art. The various embodiments of theinvention do not depend on any particular type or brand of ad hoc ormesh network hardware.

As will be discussed in greater detail herein, in the network 200, eachnetwork node 230 may upload information according to a predeterminedschedule, such as, for example, once every hour. Also, an upload signalmay be sent on demand, from the bridge device 210 to each of the networknodes 230 causing them to perform a specified task or to uploadinformation to the bridge device 210.

It should be appreciated that this information may include current watermeter reading information as well as other information associated withthe node, such as, for example, current state, power information,temperature information, water pressure information, backflowindication, and/or any other sensor-based information from one or moreelectronic sensors in communication with the network node 230, as willbe discussed in greater detail herein.

Referring now to FIG. 3, this Figure is an illustration of a water meterpit including a remote water meter monitoring system according tovarious embodiments of the invention. In a conventional system, a waterpit typically includes a water meter, that is comprised of a waterchamber and a water measurement head that is equipped with a gauge orother meter on the top and a manually shut off valve coupling the watersupply line to the customer premises. In the system depicted in FIG. 3,the conventional water measurement head has been replaced with a newwater measurement head, 265, according to the various embodiments of theinvention. The water meter 250 may include a water chamber 260 throughwhich water flow passes from the water supply 115 to the consumer watersystem 215, and a water measurement head 265 that attaches to the waterchamber 260. The measurement head 265 may also include a water countingmodule 270 having a flow meter, a power conversion module 280 and acontrol module 300. The control module 300 may also include a wirelineconnection 315 to an antenna 320 coupled to the meter pit cover 245. Invarious embodiments, the meter pit cover 245 may comprise a metal platewith a through-hole near the center allowing the antenna 320 to contactthe wire 315. The antenna 320 may be encased in resin or plastic, orother material, in order to prevent breakage when the meter pit cover245 is stepped on or driven over with a bicycle, car, or other vehicle.The fact that the meter pit cover 245 is a relatively massive,conductive object, it serves as an ideal ground plane for the antennathereby increasing the range and performance of the wireless networkaccording to the various embodiments of the invention. This isparticularly advantageous for retrofitting the system according to thevarious embodiments of the invention to existing water supply networks.The only required modification to the meter pit cover 245 is making athrough-hole and attaching the antenna 320.

In various embodiments, a separate manual shut-off valve 116 may beplaced or left in the meter pit 240 to permit manual shut off of thewater supply using conventional techniques. Alternatively, and/or incombination therewith, an electronically controllable shut off valve maybe incorporated into the water chamber 260, or attached pipe, 215,thereby permitting remote water shut off, as will be discussed ingreater detail herein. This electronically controllable shut off valvemay comprise a spring loaded valve. In various embodiments, this valvemay be manually tensioned into an open position with an external switchor valve control. A solenoid may be used to release the shut off valvebased on a remote command received by the control module 300 of themeter system 250. This may require the water service provider to send atechnician or other person out to the customer premises to return theshut off valve to the pre-tensioned, open position, such as, forexample, after the consumer's water service account has been madecurrent.

In the water meter, 250, according to FIG. 3, water flowing through thewater chamber 260 may be counted by the water counting module 270 usinga nutating valve assembly or other water volume measuring device thatpasses a known volume of water with each complete rotation, as isdiscussed in greater detail in the context of FIGS. 8 and 9. It shouldbe appreciated that the various embodiments of the invention are notreliant on the particular type of water volume measuring device that isutilized. Several such mechanical devices are known in the art.

Also, in the water meter 250, mechanical energy of the pressurized waterpassing through the water chamber 260, may be harnessed by the powerconversion module 280 to provide electrical power for all the metersystem components in the measurement head 265, as is discussed ingreater detail in the context of FIGS. 4-6.

Referring now to FIG. 4, this Figure is a block circuit diagram ofelectrical components of a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention. The electricalcomponents include a power conversion module 280. The power conversionmodule 280 includes a mechanical energy converter 287 located in thewater chamber 260. The energy converter 287 may include an impeller,nutating disk, blade assembly or other surface area device rotatingabout a drive shaft to which torque is imparted by the flow of water.This rotating shaft may be used to energize one or more components in apower converter and supply module 290. The power converter and supply290 may include one or more capacitors, one or more batteries, andcontrol logic and/or switches for supplying system power to variouscomponents of the remote water meter monitoring system according to thevarious embodiments of the invention.

The power converter and supply 290 may output power to a power bus 295.The power bus 295 may supply power to the control module 300 as well asone or more sensors 289-1, 289-2. The power bus 295 may also supplypower to a solenoid or other actuator of an electronic shut off valve325.

The control module 300 may include a transmitter and receiver(transceiver) 305, a microprocessor 310 and one or more memorystructures (not shown) storing a control program executed by the controlmodule 300 as well as historical data from the water counting module 270and sensors 289-1, 289-2, . . . , 289-N. The sensors 289-1, 289-2, . . .289-N, may comprise water pressure sensors, temperature sensors, waterquality sensors, or other sensors. Alternatively, or in combination, thesensors 289-1, 289-2, . . . 289-N may be incorporated into a singlesensor module, such as a board or chip-based sensor lab that performs avariety of diagnostic tests on the water. The sensor information may becommunicated periodically or in real time to the control module 300 viacommunication bus 335, such as universal asynchronousreceiver/transmitter (UART), serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus,inter-integrated circuit (I²C), 1-Wire or USB. Also, the control module300 may poll the one or more sensors 289-1, 289-2, . . . , 289-Nperiodically or on demand to obtain information corresponding to waterconditions, current or past. The water counting module 270 may beelectrically coupled to the power bus 295 and communicatively coupled tothe control module 300 via the data bus 335.

Referring now to FIG. 5, this Figure is a block diagram of a powerconversion circuit of a power conversion module for a remote water metermonitoring system according to various embodiments of the invention. Asdiscussed briefly in the context of FIG. 4, the power conversion circuitmay include an energy converter 287 driven by an mechanical energy ofwater flow. The energy converter 287 may convert the mechanical energyof the rotating shaft into electrical energy as discussed in greaterdetail in the context of FIGS. 6 and 7. After conversion by rectifier288, the electrical energy generated by the energy converter 287 maycharge a capacitor 292 of the power converter and storage module 290,which may in turn charge a battery 294. A switch 296 may select eitherthe capacitor 292 or the battery 294 to supply output power, such as tothe power supply bus 295 shown in FIG. 4. In various embodiments, theswitch 296 may include decision logic for selecting either the capacitor292 or the battery 294 based on a current state of either or bothdevices, or in accordance with a predetermine power management schemestored in a memory device of the switch 296 or another memory structureexternal to the switch 296. In various embodiments, by placing thecapacitor 292 between the energy converter 287 and the battery 294, thenumber of charge cycles of the battery 294 may be significantly reducedover direct charging techniques, thereby increasing the effective lifeof the system. Also, the switch 296 may help to insure that the battery294 is charged by the capacitor 292 only after the battery 294 has beenfully discharged to avoid battery memory problems and increase theusable life of the battery 294.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of converting mechanical water flowenergy into electrical energy in a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention. The method begins inblock 400 and proceeds to block 405 where water flowing through themeter's water chamber rotates a turbine, impeller, blade and shaftassembly, or other mechanism that rotates with the flow of water, orcauses a nutating disk assembly or other volume measuring assembly to beacutated. The mechanical energy created in block 405, in the form of theshaft rotation, is used to drive a drive magnet, in block 410. In block415, the rotation of the drive magnet creates a time varying magneticflux density that drives a registration magnet, which, in variousembodiments, may be located above the portion of the meter assemblythrough which water is flowing. In block 420, the rotation of theregistration magnet may drive the generator, either directly, such asvia a drive shaft, or indirectly, through a mechanical gear assembly. Invarious embodiments, this may comprise spinning a pair of magneticallycoupled rotors around a set of coils as discussed in the context ofFIGS. 7A and 7B. The time changing magnetic flux caused by the rotationof the magnetically coupled rotors induces a time varying current in thecoils generating an electrical current. In block 425, the currentcreated in block 420 is output to a charge storage circuit. In variousembodiments, this may comprise communicating the current to the input ofa rectifier circuit that converts alternating current (AC) to directcurrent (DC) that can be used to create a stored charge in thecapacitor. This stored charge can be used to provide line power to theremote meter monitoring system. This stored charge can also be used tocharge the battery of the power conversion module.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are different views of a water meter, including a powerconversion generator for a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention. FIG. 7A shows acut-away view of the water meter system 250, including the energyconverter 287. Water enters the water chamber 260 in the directionindicated by the arrow 115A. The force of this water contacts the energyconverter 287, which, in this example, includes a nutating diskassembly. It should be appreciated that another water volume measuringdevice may be utilized to measure the flow rate. In the exemplaryembodiment depicted in FIG. 7A, the nutating disk's motion drives adrive magnet 281 via a drive shaft 281A in the water chamber 260. Inaddition to providing a magnetic flux change detectable by the watercounting module 270, the drive magnet 281 drives a registration magnet282, located in the measurement head 265, via magnetic conduction. Theregistration magnet 282 rotates about an axis 282A, which also controlsthe rotation of the rotor elements 283 of the power conversion module280. The power conversion module 280, also referred to herein as angenerator, may comprise a pair of magnetically coupled rotors 283 thatface each other having magnetic plates 284 affixed thereto, the rotationof which is driven by the registration magnet, either directly, or via amechanical gear assembly.

In various embodiments, such as is shown in the context of FIG. 7B, eachrotor 283 may have a number of magnets, or magnetic plates 284 affixedthereto. For illustration purposes only, eight magnets are shown in FIG.7B. However, it should be appreciated that more or fewer magnets maybeused with the various embodiments of the invention. Also, a magneticdisk with one or more magnetic pole pairs may be utilized instead of therotor 283 shown in FIG. 7B, without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention. In fact, the various embodiments of the invention arenot tied to any particular rotor design. In the example of FIGS. 7A and7B, the magnets 284 are coupled to one another with North-South polesfacing each on the respective upper and lower rotors 283. Between therotors 283 is a set of fixed conductive coils 285. In variousembodiments a number of multi-turn coils may be suspended between themagnetically coupled rotors. Also, the coils 285 may be oriented so thatwhen the rotors 283 rotate, the direction of the magnetic field passesthrough the center axis of each coil, thereby inducing a maximum currentin each coil 285. However, it should be appreciated that otherorientations may be utilized as well. Furthermore, the number of coilsthat may be utilized is not critical to the various embodiments of theinvention.

With continued reference to FIG. 7A, as the water flow drives therotation device, this in turn rotates the drive shaft 281A. Rotation ofthe drive shaft causes the drive magnet 281 to rotate, either directly,or indirectly, through a gear assembly. Rotation of the drive magnet281, in turn, may cause a registration magnet 282 to rotate via magneticconduction. The registration magnet may rotate about its own shaft 282A.Rotation of the shaft 282A may cause a pair of magnetically coupledrotors 283 to rotate, thereby inducing a current in a series of coils285 suspended between the facing rotors 283. This current may have agenerally sinusoidal magnitude over time due to the changing pattern ofmagnetic flux density over the rotors' 283 rotation. The outputs of thecoils 285 are supplied to the input of the power conversion and supplymodule 290. For example, the output of the coils 285 may be rectifiedand used to charge a capacitor such as the capacitor 292 in FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A and 8B, these Figures are different views of awater chamber and water measurement head including a water countingsystem for a remote water meter monitoring system according to variousembodiments of the invention. The water counting module 270 is comprisedof a water counting mechanism. The water counting mechanism isconfigured to quantify motion of a volumetric element to a specifiedvolume of water. This in turn can be used to determine water consumptionthrough the meter. One example of such a volumetric element is anutating disk based system, such as that depicted in FIG. 8A. It shouldbe appreciated that other mechanical volume meters may be used withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. In the example ofFIG. 8A, water entering the water chamber 260 passes through a diskchamber 271. A nutating disk 272 wobbles about a ball and cradle typejoint 273 having a center axis 274. The movement of the center axis 274causes a shaft 281A to drive a magnet 281. Thus, each rotation of themagnet 281 may be correlated mathematically to the passage of a discreteand known volume of water. A plurality of magnetic flux detectors 277A,277B, 277C, such as a Hall effect sensors or other sensors, attached tothe cover 278 may be used to “count” the number of rotations of thedrive magnet 281. Using a known conversion parameter, these counts maybe used to determine flow rate and therefore water consumption.

In the exemplary system shown in FIG. 8, three sensors 277A, 277B, and277C are used. In various embodiments, a first sensor 277A may be usedto selectively wake up a controller in the control module 300 from asleep or low power state. For example, the CPU of the control module maydefault to a sleep state to reduce power consumption. When the firstsensor 277A senses a magnetic flux change caused by rotation of thedrive magnet 281, it may send a signal to wake up the processor of thecontrol module via an interrupt pin on the CPU, causing the CPU toprepare to begin recording water consumption.

The second sensor 277B may be used to count the number of rotations ofthe magnet that occur. A parameter may be stored in advance in thecontroller or elsewhere correlating the number of rotations per gallonof water flow. Thus, in various embodiments, each count by the sensor277B sends a signal to the control module. Every N of these signals maycause the microprocessor to increment a water usage variable stored inmemory to reflect the increased water consumption.

In various embodiments, a third sensor 277C may be incorporated topermit the system to detect a backflow condition, that is, water flowinginto the supply pipe from a customer premises. This may be indicative ofincorrectly connected plumbing lines within the premises, an attempt tointroduce contaminants into the water supply, or even a break in thewater supply line. By positioning the third sensor 277C within apredetermined number of radians with respect to the second sensor 277B,such as, for example, between π/4 and π/2 radians, it may be possible todetermine the direction of water flow through the chamber 271. This maybe done by comparing the measured north-south pole transitions from thesecond sensor 277B and the third sensor 277C for a given time period.The pattern will be different in the case of reverse motion of themagnet causing the control module to determine that back flow isoccurring. The control module may increment a different counter torecord backflow. Also, backflow in excess of a predetermined amount maycause a shut off valve to be automatically engaged and/or a signal to besent to the bridge device notifying the water supplier of the existenceof the backflow condition.

It should be appreciated that the particular type of water countingmechanism is not critical to the various embodiments of the invention.Various different sensor types may be used in conjunction withmechanical flow control devices such as a nutating disk to count thevolume of water flowing through the water chamber 260, with a generalgoal of reducing and minimizing current drawn by the sensors.

Referring now to FIG. 9, this Figure is a flow chart of a method formeasuring water flow with a remote water meter monitoring systemaccording to various embodiments of the invention. The method begins inblock 500 and proceeds to block 505 where water flows into the waterflow chamber of the water meter. Generally, such flows are driven by arelease of water in a customer premises such as by turning on a faucet.

In block 510, the water flowing into the water flow chamber must passthrough a rotating, nutating, or oscillating disk or other flowmeasuring mechanism, or flow meter, causing a shaft to rotate inaccordance with a cycle of the disk. As discussed above in the contextof FIG. 8A, in one nutation cycle a known volume of water has flowedthrough the water meter. Next, in block 515, the rotation of thenutation disk, or other flow sensor causes a drive shaft to turn whichin turn causes a drive magnet to rotate due to mechanical coupling ofthe flow sensor to the drive magnet.

The rotation of the drive magnet generates a time changing magneticfield, that is, a change in flux density over time. In block 520, asensor, such as a Hall effect sensor, or other flux change sensor,detects this changing flux density caused by the drive magnet'srotation. In various embodiments a non-magnetic material will be usedfor the water chamber to enable the flux change to be detected throughthe sealed water chamber. In block 525, the sensor sends a wake-upsignal to a control module to “wake up” and begin recording water flow.In block 530, another sensor counts the magnetic pole changes caused bythe rotating magnet and sends a count signal to the control module. Inblock 535, based on a look-up value corresponding to the parameters ofthe meter, the control module calculates a flow rate based on the numberof nutation cycles. In block 540, a water usage variable is incrementedfor each unit of flow, such as, for example, for each gallon.

Referring now to FIG. 10, this Figure is a block diagram illustratingthe various logic modules utilized in the remote water meter monitoringsystem according to the various embodiments of the invention. The system600 comprises various modules which may provide functionality forfacilitating rewards-based investments over a communication network.

In the example of FIG. 10, a control module 610, a communication module620, a water flow module 630, a sensor module 640 and a memory module650 are shown. It should be appreciated that each module 610, 620, 630,640, and 650 may be configured as a software application executing oncomputer hardware, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), acombination of hardware and software, combinations of these, or othersuitable configuration. In commercially available mesh network nodes,single package solutions are available that includes a programmablemicroprocessor and a radio transceiver based on one or morecommunications protocols, such as, but not limited to, for example, theIEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless personal area networks (WPANs). Itshould also be appreciated that one or more of modules 610, 620, 630,640, and 650 may be combined or broken into multiple additional modules.Furthermore, modules different than the exemplary ones depicted in FIG.10 may be used with the various embodiments of the invention.

The control module 610 may comprise an embedded microprocessor, DSP, orother processor, or even a real-time kernel of an embedded operatingsystem. The control module 610 may be programmed with an instruction settailored to the specific application of remote water meter monitoring.For example, the control module 610 may be programmed with a set ofinstructions that can be received remotely, as well as a set ofmanufacturer/integrator defined parameters, including a schedule ofoperator, e.g., uploading data every hour. The control module may alsoinclude a system clock.

The communication module 620 may comprise a two-way radio (transceiver)configured to communicate using one or more wireless communicationsprotocols. The communication protocol may also store mesh networkselection algorithms for determining an optimal network path. This typeof information is typically programmed by the manufacturer of thetransceiver. The communication module 620 may permit two-waycommunication from the system 600 to/from a bridge device, eitherdirectly, or through one or more other such systems.

The counting module 630 may receive count signals from one or moresensors or detectors indicative of a water flow through the water flowchamber. The counting module 630 may convert these count signals, basedon a stored value correlating the count signals to a particular volumeof water, into a flow rate. This flow rate may then be used to incrementa running total of water consumption in a particular billing unit, suchas in gallons. The counting module 630 may store and increment thisvalue in the memory module 640. The memory module may consist of arelatively small amount of non-volatile memory that is used to storewater consumption information as well as information from other sensorsand components.

The sensor module 650 may receive information from one or moretransducers or other sensors that are capable of sending electricalsignals corresponding to physical phenomena. The sensor module 650 mayinclude a standard or non-standard data bus connected to sensor busadapted to interface with one or more sensors. For example, a pressuresensor may sense ambient water pressure in the pressure chamber andconvert this information to an electrical signal that is received by thesensor module 650. The sensor module 650 may poll the sensors to provideinformation periodically. Alternatively, the sensors may send theinformation to the sensor module 650 periodically. The sensor module 650may store this sensor information in the memory module 640 so that itcan be uploaded by the control module 610 via the communication module620 in accordance with an upload schedule or on demand. The sensormodule 650 may communicate with individual sensors, such as sensors forpressure, temperature, water quality, etc. Alternatively, the sensormodule 650 may communicate with an integrated sensor, such as alab-on-a-chip or lab-on-a-board that is capable of performing aplurality of different water quality tests in real or near real time.

The various embodiments disclosed herein may provide a remote watermeter monitoring system that reduces costs and increases accuracy ofwater meter reading. Also, various embodiments may provide access towater meter information remotely via network-based interface such as anycomputing device executing a network browser such as an Internet webbrowser. Further, various embodiments may provide additional servicessuch as remote water shut off, event-based messaging, back flowdetection, and water quality monitoring. For example, the control modulemay be programmed to upload a message when more than a pre-determinedamount of water has flowed through the meter, indicating a potentialleak situation. This may cause a message to be sent to the watercustomer based on previously specified contact information.Additionally, the customer may be able to access his/her own account viaa server system maintained by the water service provider in order toremotely monitor past and current water usage conditions at thecustomer's premises. Also, various embodiments may harness mechanicalenergy from water flowing through the meter to generate power. Thispower generation may eliminate the need for redundant power systems orline power. Furthermore, by using the capacitor as the primary powersource and managing the charging cycles of the system batteries, mayextend the life of the system, eliminate the need for batteryreplacement, and provide additional power for the other sensorsdiscussed herein.

The embodiments of the present inventions are not to be limited in scopeby the specific embodiments described herein. For example, although manyof the embodiments disclosed herein have been described in the contextof systems and methods for performing remote water meter monitoring,other embodiments, in addition to those described herein, will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoingdescription and accompanying drawings. Thus, such modifications areintended to fall within the scope of the following appended claims.Further, although some of the embodiments of the present invention havebeen described herein in the context of a particular implementation in aparticular environment for a particular purpose, those of ordinary skillin the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto andthat the embodiments of the present inventions can be beneficiallyimplemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes.Many modifications to the embodiments described above can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view ofthe full breath and spirit of the embodiments of the present inventionsas disclosed herein. Also, while the foregoing description includes manydetails and specificities, it is to be understood that these have beenincluded for purposes of explanation only, and are not to be interpretedas limitations of the present invention.

1. A power generator system comprising: a rotating device adapted torotate in response to a flow of water on the rotating device; a drivemagnet operatively coupled to the rotating device and adapted to rotatein response to the rotating device rotating; a registration magnetoperatively coupled to the drive magnet and adapted to rotate inresponse to the drive magnet rotating; and a power generator operativelycoupled to the registration magnet and adapted to harvest and storeenergy in response to the registration magnet rotating.
 2. The powergenerator system of claim 1 further comprising a rectifier operativelycoupled to an output of the power generator and adapted to convert theenergy from an alternating current (AC) to a direct current (DC).
 3. Thepower generator system of claim 2 further comprising at least one powerstorage device adapted to be charged by an output of the rectifier. 4.The power generator system of claim 2 further comprising a first powerstorage device adapted to be charged by an output of the rectifier and asecond power storage device adapted to be charged by an output of thefirst power storage device.
 5. The power generator system of claim 4further comprising a processor configured to monitor voltages levels ofthe first power storage device and second power storage device and causea transfer of energy from the first power storage device to the secondpower storage device in the event that the voltage level of the firststorage device is above a first threshold and the voltage level of thesecond storage device is below a second threshold.
 6. The powergenerator system of claim 4 further comprising a power conditioningcircuit operatively coupled to the first power storage device andadapted to maintain voltage levels within a specified range.
 7. Thepower generator system of claim 1 wherein the rotating device is one ofa turbine, impeller, oscillating disk, blade and shaft assembly, and anutating disk assembly.
 8. The power generator system of claim 1 furthercomprising a drive shaft operatively coupled to the rotating device at afirst end and to the drive magnet at a second end.
 9. The powergenerator system of claim 1 wherein the registration magnet and drivemagnet are magnetically coupled.
 10. The power generator system of claim1 wherein the registration magnet and drive magnet are operativelycoupled by one of a drive shaft and a gear assembly.
 11. The powergenerator system of claim 1 wherein the power generator furthercomprises: a pair of rotors operatively coupled to the registrationmagnet and adapted to rotate in response to the registration magnetrotating, wherein each rotor comprises at least one magnetic pole; and aseries of coils interposed between the pair of rotors, wherein therotation of the pair of rotors with respect to the at least one coilproduces an alternating current (AC) in the at least one coil.
 12. Thepower generator system of claim 11 further comprising a registrationmagnet shaft operatively coupled to the registration magnet at a firstend and to the rotors at a second end.
 13. A method comprising: rotatinga rotating device by a flow of water; rotating a drive magnet inresponse to the rotation of the rotating device, wherein the rotation ofthe drive magnet generates a time varying magnetic flux density.rotating a registration magnet in response to the time varying magneticflux density; rotating a pair of rotors with respect to a series ofcoils interposed between the pair of rotors, the rotation being inresponse to the rotation of the registration magnet, thereby generatingan alternating current (AC) in the series of coils.
 14. The method ofclaim 13 further comprising converting the alternating current (AC) to adirect current (DC).
 15. The method of claim 14 further comprisingcharging a power storage device using the direct current (DC).
 16. Themethod of claim 14 further comprising charging a first storage deviceusing the direct current (DC) and charging a second storage device fromthe first storage device.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprisingmonitoring voltages levels of the first power storage device and secondpower storage device and causing a transfer of energy from the firstpower storage device to the second power storage device in the eventthat the voltage level of the first storage device is above a firstthreshold and the voltage level of the second storage device is below asecond threshold.
 18. The method of claim 16 further comprisingmaintaining output voltage levels within a specified range.
 19. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the registration magnet and drive magnet aremagnetically coupled.
 20. The method of claim 13 wherein each rotorcomprises at least one magnetic pole.
 21. The method of claim 13 whereinenergy is harvested and stored in response to the flow of water on therotating device.